The Hundred Days, the Congress of Vienna and the Atlantic Slave Trade

Abstract

Because the Hundred Days strengthened Britain’s negotiating hand at Vienna, British abolitionists sensed that this was their chance to secure the abolition of slaving across Europe. In particular, they were eager to ensure that France could not profit from the trade now that Britain had abandoned it, and Castlereagh was eager to include a commitment to abolition in any peace treaty. However, his enthusiasm was not shared by Louis XVIII or by the other Allies. The right of the Royal Navy to board foreign vessels was resisted, and 1815 ushered in a period of illegal slaving across the Atlantic world.